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So I have wanted a titan for a while, I guess I really would like to have a few. It would probably be appropriate to go for a warhound titan, but I think there is a reasonable chance there may be a plastic kit for those someday in the hopefully not too distant future. Anyway, I couldn't get motivated to move forward because of that. The catalyst that actually started this project was completely unforeseen. I built three dreadnought droppods and I was left with the remnants of two droppod kits including these:


Anyway, it occurred to me that if I put some toes on these they would be about the size of a Reaver Titan foot. I kept bouncing that thought around for a while. This idea worked out well because I like the FW Reaver but I don't love it, like one thing I don't like is how do they reload that missile launcher? I laid out some plans and realized there is a lot of potential here. I used to be a submariner on a nuclear sub, I am currently an engineer, and I am a big fan of Star Wars/Star Trek so I started pouring all that inspiration into my design. So anyway here it is:


To solve the missile launcher reloading problem, I had to layout the whole interior which naturally lead to the fact that I need to do a fully detailed interior.


The Command Deck is going to be Star Trek Enterprise Bridge the missile Deck will be laid out similar to a submarine torpedo room. The platforms on top of the shoulders will be convertible to landing/launch platforms and the port and starboard transport areas will have doors allowing a squad to move onto the platforms (like an SM assault or devestator squad)

So if you haven't already figured it out this is going to be a long P&M blog. Obviously, it has already grown past the normal reaver size, but not quite Warlord sized yet. It is looking to be 18-21 inches tall. I am thinking of this as a command reaver where it is driven from the head but on the command deck there is a team and a commander supervising the overall battle. I may make it modular so that I can slap an extra carapace weapon on and call it a warlord.

So any advice/comment is greatly appreciated. Assuming that I am actually able to detail the interiors I will probably try to light the model but I am not sure how involved that would be. Also any ideas on what to use for detailing are appreciated as well. I can construct the basic form pretty easily but making it realistic inside will be tricky. I am constructing models in Sketchup with the hope of putting everything together in a building guide once I am finished.

Enjoy.

Well the obvious place to start is from the ground up. I constructed 10 toes that will be hinged into the bottom half of the droppod base. In the center a small piece of 1 1/4" diameter PVC will form the bottom of the ankle joint. All of the toes and the ankle joint will be capable of moving so that the model can be freely posed.

Here are all the pieces ready for assembly:


Here they are placed in the correct position:


Here is the scale picture:

Obviously if you are a dreadnought you want to know where the Reaver is putting its next step.

The next step will be to build up the base so that the toes can hinge into it and it looks a bit bulkier

If you are into casting, the toes would be a great place to save a lot of repetitive effort. As it is I will have to build each of them up with detail from styrene. It isn't a problem to do one toe but everything is multiplied by 10... lots of cuts, lots of glue.

jabbakahut wrote:I was in the Navy, you couldn't figure out how they did an ammo onload?

Do you think they hover a Valkyrie over the Reaver and some sap hangs out the door shoving missiles into the launcher between battles? I am just going to make some missile storage racks and then some sort of oversized servo arm loader to shove more missiles in the breach.

jabba - they are basically a small styrene(plasticard) box. other than the side it is just a bunch of straight cuts. They aren't too hard but they are just boxes, they have to be detailed, I am still trying to decide what to put on the front flat face.

OK, here is the pretty much finished foot:


So one of the big tricks here was to mount the edge of a PVC cylinder to a pentagonal styrene pyramid. I tried filing it down but quickly realized there was no hope in getting a clean joint with no large gaps. I broke out the hot glue gun to fill the gap and give a little plyability to the joint. It seems to work pretty well. Green stuff would probably work just as well.

The hinge structures are hollow styrene structures. The mounts for the regular drop pod hinges are still used but I made small brass pins so that the joints will still be able to move. The toes have almost 90 degrees of movement.

Here is another view:


1.5 down about 18" left to go....

So the next part is to buildup the ankle joint. Ball and socket joint is in order. Here is the preview:

Anyone have any advice on where to get the extra Missiles that come in the whirlwind kit. Battlewagon bits sells the whole whirlwind sprue for $15... a bit much just to get the missile.

Also I am looking for 1/8"-1/2" transparent acrylic rod in either green, blue or maybe orange for the plasma reactor. I found a few places that sell it but there are large minimums for each color. I would like a little bit of each color. Is there anyone that sells a small multicolor pack or small amounts of specific colors?

I should have some updates on the legs soon.

Well it looks more or less like the model:



Here is a shot of the innards:


Just a bunch of nylon hardware threaded through the bottom of the foot.

And here is a better look at it in cross section.


The spring keeps pressure between the curved PVC end cap and a PVC cylinder inside the ankle.

The pistons are just nested styrene tubes.

This is a superimposed image showing the full motion of the ankle ball joint:


Combined with the styrene tubes and jointed toes there is a decent range of motion:


Next up is the legs. I think I may see if I can move this over to the P&M tutorials, maybe I can use it in the big tutorial contest.

s.j.mccartney wrote:Sorry if it was listed above, but what did you make the pistons from? Is it two sizes of plasticard straws/rod?

If so, where do you get it, I have no decent hobby shop nearby and need some plasticard!

Basically, the small diameter piece is 1/8" diameter styrene tube and the top portion is actually two tubes nested a 3/16" diameter with a 1/4" diameter over the top. I was afraid it didn't look substantial enough with just the 3/16" tube. It still seems a little on the small side, if I did it again I would probably bump everything up a 1/16".

I have a hobby shop that carries a little bit of evergreen plastics(http://www.evergreenscalemodels.com/) and plastruct products rack(http://www.plastruct.com/) that I got them from.

They both seem to have some international distribution listed on their websites. Evergreen is a slightly higher quality, but plastruct has more variety.

Shadow Nugz wrote:I smell a falling titan. Nice job, the custom joints are cool and even cooler since they can actually move and what-not. Very very cool

Yeah I have to say that concerns me a bit but the drop pod base really carries the load. Eventually I will make a custom base that this will attach to. I would like to make the base removable so that I could pull it off and change its position if I wanted to. I was originally planning to pose it and glue it but the mechanisms are work so well it would be a shame to do it if I can avoid it.

Here are the sketches for the legs. Basically they are all PVC. It took a little trial and error to find the combination to sizes that seem like the right scale. The nice thing is that PVC is easy to work with and try different things out with.

Here is the overall plan with sizes. I have labeled the pieces that were cut.



So now on to the details starting at the bottom, the red areas are where cuts were made:



Nothing too tricky on this one. By adjusting how much is taken off the end cap it is possible to limit the maximum motion of the ankle joint.

And the knee joint:

OK, this one is a bit tougher. The upper part will nest inside the lower knee joint and will have a range of motion about 90 degrees through that open slot. I think I actually
had to use two couplers due to loss of material when making cuts. The 1 1/4" inner piece is just a little smaller than the 1 1/2" coupler piece so some thin plasticard is wrapped around to keep it tight, as long as the body doesn't weigh 20 pounds it should easily support the weight without shifting.

Oh yeah the piece below the knee is more art than science. A 2" hole bit was drilled more or less perpendicular to the pipe to produce a 2" rounded surface. I then wrap sand paper around the piece it will be glued to and shape the mating surface to a very close match. A little PVC cement and it is done.

Finally the hip:


Super easy, basically just trimmed it down to match the width of th eouter part of the Knee joint below.

I will get some pictures of the real pieces up here shortly.

Google Sketchup - Free and super easy to use if you have any CAD experience whatsoever. I have been playing around with the different styles.

http://sketchup.google.com/

I think after I finish this I may try to write up a guide with more detailed pictures/dimensions etc.

Here is a pic of the knees in progress:



Here are all the pieces laid out prior to assembly:



And finally fitting everything together, with a dread for scale:



I also wanted to mention my primary tool on this part of the build.


Miter saw is pretty much essential. At first I was trying to cut too fast and shreading the PVC. If you slow your cuts down you get super clean edges. Some of the more complicated cuts such as the knees have to be cleaned up with a hobby knife and file.

So next will be finishing up the knee and adding the hydraulics to the thigh.

jabbakahut wrote:I use google sketchup all the time, I still don't know how you got that look. Seems like a pro feature. Is it Piranesi export?

No it is the free version. You might make sure you have the latest version, mine is version 7.0.10247. You have to select styles under the "Window" menu:



There are tons of options and each of those can be further modified. I presume you could import other styles from other sources as well. Which I may have to look for now that I think of it.

Jabba, I think that will leave that till later. I am somewhat hesitant to do it because I want the pistons to still be visible to a degree.

The idea I am currently thinking about is to have vertical supports between the pistons on the lower shin and then to place flat or curved pieces of styrene sheet (1/16" or 1/8") thick between the vertical pieces to cover most of the pistons. I may only do the front three toes and leave the backside open or at least lighter armored.

I also need a knee shield which I haven't even thought about yet. Any ideas?

Upper legs are basically done.

Straight on view:


Inside and outside, side views:

The ends of the knee joints are a 1" gear from an old VCR and a metal valve piece. The Hip is capped by a Brita pitcher filter. I am not sure if I like the knobby end on it though.

Closeup of the upper leg pistons:


Detail of the Piston mechanism:


So this was overly complicated to make it work but basically I had to bore out a slot in the bottom of the Hip joint insert the top of both pistons and then put a brass rod through to pin them so they can rotate forward and aft. Basically I made a rod end bearing. It works but I had to shave the pper parts down to prevent them from interfering with each other. There is probably a better wat to do this but this works and looks kinda cool too.

I thought a bit more about the greaves:


This is a little off center, but it gives the idea. The greaves are 10 pieces and cover the front three pistons. The aft 2 pistons will be left exposed. I will probably add some other decorative details to break up the flat areas (Eagles, skulls, all that jazz.)

I almost forgot:


It is blurry because of movement in the ankle. You get the idea.

Here are a couple of quick images of the Hips up to the engineering deck:

Hips , reactor containment and Engineering Deck:


Here is the general layout, the fwd end is at the bottom. The bump out at the top is going to have an access ladder to get into the reactor vessel.


And here is a pic of what we have so far on top of the legs:


I expect that the head will be one of the last things I will do, but if anyone has any ideas on what it should/could look like I am open to ideas. I haven't come up with anything good. All that I really intend to have in there is drivers.

theocd wrote:How much is this costing for you to build? If its cheaper than buying a reaver I might grab my hacksaw!!! I joke, but I am intrigued at how much the materials and machinery are costing for this big, little project.

I have actually been tracking the styrene that I have purchased but I normally have to buy much more in a package than I need so far. PVC is pretty cheap. I had the droppod bases left over from another project and for the top I will be sacrificing the better part of a Land Raider. I will see if I can put together a detailed materials list but I am going to guess I will spend $300 but it will consume less than $200 of materials leaving me with a bunch of extra bits and styrene (there will have to be a few more smaller titans in the future). There is a good chance I will be spending some cash on some titan crew. I figure I may need almost a dozen crew to drive this thing.

Tools... those I already have. The only tools I have purchased so far are #11 exacto blades (and lots of them).

So if I don't count my time, then it will definitely be cheaper than FW, and hopefully it will look as good, not to mention the moving parts and hopefully fully detailed interior.
Of course I don't count my time because:
1 - This is my hobby
2 - I am having alot of fun learning how to do this

I will see what I can do about refining that cost.

s.j.mccartney wrote:I love it. I'll draw you a picture of what the head could look like. I'd be interested to know a total tally of how much the raw materials cost too!

keep on trucking

Cool I'd love to see some ideas. I am not stuck on the standard or conventional head designs.

jabbakahut wrote:Are you talking about what to do for the interior of the head, or what the exterior should look like? I would presume you are going with the standard Reaver squished head. Also, if you need any reference photos for ideas, I have a FW reaver I've yet to assemble-just tell me what you want a photo of and I can provide it.

Mostly exterior. For the interior I am planning on basically 2 drivers side by side, and some type of supervisor type behind them. Exterior, I keep thinking some sort of animal head, maybe a double headed aquila, just kidding. I keep thinking maybe a Lion (this will be supporting my Dark Angels afterall) but I can't think of a way to do it and make it look cool. I would like to see whatever pictures you have.

So I started thinking about the crew:

1 Overall Commander
1 Junior Officer
2 Bridge Attendants
2 Main Gunners
2 Auxillary gunners
2 Drivers
1 Driving Officer
1 Weapons Officer
1 Engineering Officer
2-4 servitors loading weapons/running the reactor
A servo skull running coffee to the bridge


Wow, now that I write that down it sounds a little ridiculous. Did I forget anyone?

Nice, ok I guess that idea is out.

Let the Land Raider Cannibalization begin...

Here are a couple pics of the Engineering Deck forward and aft bulkheads:


The port side will be ventilation, stbd side will be the hydraulic plant. The forward walls will contain anti personnel weapon mounts (Twin linked heavy bolters most likely). I can't figure out why you would build this huge walker and wouldn't throw a few extra weapons on. In game terms they won't do anything but they should look pretty cool.

The Engineering Deck is getting assembled. The forward and aft views:



Detail of the Aft view:



Here is an update on the overall model:



So the next layer will be the Primary Deck which will be the base of the Transport sections, the Missile Deck and the arm supports:


These two pieces will be used to make a composite panel with Styrene I-Beam such that he deck is about 1/2" thick and super stiff for the weapons mounts.

The outer hull will be made of a modified Landraider hull. Here are the pieces prior to cutting showing where the cuts will be:


I was thinking about cutting the center column so that I might be able to make a landspeeder hanger but it would have taken up too much space internally and I would have to make a highly modified landspeeder (folding wings, etc.). So the plastic between the doors will stay. There will also be cuts to allow the Primary Deck to pass through to the weapons mounts.

Evergreen sells sheet materials in multiple different sizes up to 8x21". That was key to getting those parts to work.

http://www.evergreenscalemodels.com/Sheets.htm#White%20Economy%20Packs

Primary Deck Photos.

Here is the Modified Land Raider Hull sides:


Here are all the parts laid out together:

So it is made of 0.060" Sheet with 3/8" Plastruct I Beams for stiffening. Overall about 1/2" thick and plenty stiff to support the entire Deck out to the weapons mounts.

And assembled:

Holes will accommodate the Shoulder platform mounts and weapons mounts.

Isometric:


So the center portion will be the missile Deck and the hole will be a lower weapons storage area. I am finishing up the central column that will connect the Engineering deck to the Primary Deck and support the command deck.

Now for the piece that will hold the torso together:


Sideview showing the head mount at the left and the aft end to the right. The indention at the top will be for a ladder to the command deck. Overall this creates the side bulkheads for both the engineering deck and the weapons deck.

From the front:

The pin allows a small amount of rotation for the head. I am thinking about just oving this piece and the aft bulkhead down to the Engineering deck so that I will be able to open up the engineering deck when the titan is complete.

and the next step will be the roof for the Weapons Deck. Here are the cuts laid out:


All I have left is the upper deck and Command level before I can put a picture of the full superstructure up.

Sirius42 wrote:You said earlier you were in need of ideas for a head, how about modifying (Read cutting down) the main body of a valkarie and then repositioning the nose so that its part of the body (also providing you with two crew). you would have to flatten off and mechanise the nose and lose about an inch off the valkarie body in width height and length but it could work.

Interesting, I am just now looking at ordering a couple of Valkyries. They will be for my IG, but I will keep that idea in mind when it gets here.

Orlanth wrote:very nice, but its not too late to add another carapace gun adn call it a warlord.

most people scratchbuild titans one clas too big. Warlord the size of Imperators, now Reasvers the size of warlords.

From the pictures of dreadnopught and the pairs of legs the itan is definately a warlord. The Reavers feet are only slightly bigger than the dreadnoughts base.

also the size 'five inches taller than the Forgeworld Reaver, that is Warlord scale right there.

add the extra gun and this will be one of the few Warlords out there that is the right size for its name.

I had been thinking about this lately. I expected this would be larger than a regular Reaver, but it is turning out about 4" taller than I expected. The plan all along has been to build an apocalypse missile launcher into the weapons deck. There will be a large open area on the roof above the command deck that I can mount an additional weapon. I will magnetize it so the weapon is removable. Since I only have one titan it would be nice to be able to play it either way. I will probably make a damocles comms antenna as a separate option if, i am also looking at making some AA mounts that I can put on as options.... and this is why I expect to be finished in a few years.


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jabbakahut wrote:I like the Valk idea, I was just looking at someones star wars army and think that an AT-AT head modified would look pretty cool.

Yeah I thought about the AT-AT head as well. I would like to deviate a bit from anything that has been done before but that is a good basic form.


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Strimen wrote:
Possibly a communications officer if that isn't handled by a bridge attendant.

I assume your engineering officer is a tech-priest so you have that covered. (Wouldn't want those servitors to get mind-locked with no one around to get them working let alone the rest of the machine spirits)

And of course you missed a priest, but thats totally up to you and your army's flavour.

Yeah I will have to think about it a bit more but there should be some imperial lackeys hanging about like a sage or priest on the bridge. Yeah the engineer officer will be tech priestish. I may have a couple of servitors in storage somewhere (think star trek borg) that can be activated as additional loaders or damage control etc.


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aka_mythos wrote:I agree with these sentiments. I've noticed the samething. I actually forgot the title of this thread and thought it was for building a Warlord.

To ptlangley have you thought about buying the individual FW weapons for the titans or are you going to scratch build it all?

Yeah I think I will buy a lasblaster and maybe the fist and of course the weapons will be magnetized so I will probably scratchbuild a volcano cannon, an extra las blaster.

Muhahaha... I am already headed in the helipad direction


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Well the Top Deck and Command Deck are formed:



The holes in the command deck are for the ladders down to the Weapons Deck

And since the helipad idea is out of the bag:

this is the normal defensive position... but say you want to deploy a space marine assault squad or land a speeder:


This is based of the top part of the drop pod base.

Anyone hinged the side doors on a land raider? I played around with it but I am afraid it is not going to be robust enough for multiple opening and closing cycles.

Is there enough deck space for additional weapons on the top deck?